Waterproof wall construction



Dec. 17, 1935. B. JONES WATERPROOF WALL CONSTRUCTION Filed Jan. 50, 1953IN V EN TOR.

85mm JONES ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 17, 1935 UNITED STATES ATENT OFFIQE The present inventionrelates to improvements in exterior wall constructions for buildings andhas for an object to provide a wall composed of brick and/or hollowblocks which will interrupt 5. moisture that tends to seep through thewall by way of the joints between the bricks or the blocks and whichwill lead the moisture back to the exterior of the wall.

Mortar acts like a wick to conduct moisture v by capillary action, andhitherto little success has attended efforts toprevent moisture frompenetrating to the interior face of a wall. In some cases webbing orflexible fabric islaid in the wall above each spandrel course and isthen treated with pitch or other waterproofing material. This interruptsthe seepage at the points of application, but the laying andWaterproofing of the webbing is an expensive procedure since this workmay not be done by union bricklayers and the brick laying has to behalted while the webbing and waterproofing is being applied. 7

It is an object of the present invention to provide a preformedwaterproof flashing which may be laid in. continuous lengths betweencourses of bricks or blocks. Such preformed flashing may be laid at muchless expense than the webbing referred to above and it also provides amore effective bar to the passage of moisture.

0G Another object of the invention is to provide building blocks adaptedto trap moisture which seeps in through the joints and to lead thismoisture to the flashing which, in turn, directs the moisture outward.

Other objects of my invention will appear in the following descriptionof several forms of wall structure embodying the invention and also of apreferred form of preformed flashing, and thereafter the novelty andscope of the invention will be pointed out in the claims,

In the accompanying drawing;

Figure 1 is a view in perspective of a section of an exterior wallstructure embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmental View in vertical section of a wall structureprovided with preformed flashing and including hollow blocks ofdifferent form from that shown in Fig. 1; r

Fig. 3 is aperspective view of a section of exterior wall structurecomposed entirely of hollow blocks with my preformed .flashing disposedbetween the blocks; and

Fig. 4 is a fragmental view in perspective of a preferred form offlashing. v V

The structure shown in Fig. 1 comprises an outer brick wall bonded to aninner wall of hollow tile blocks ID, the outer wall comprising coursesof stretcher bricks H with header bricks i2 bonding the two wallstogether. Header backer blocks l3 preferably of hollow .tile are 5 vdisposed between the courses of hollow blocks l0 and above each spandrelbeam [4 there is a course of stretcher bricks IS.

The blocks ID are preferably formed of hollow tile or concrete, and theyare laid with the voids 10 running horizontally. These blocks arecomposed of side walls It and top and bottom walls i9 with verticallydisposed central webs Ztwhich are flared at the top and bottom to allowfor channels 2! formed in the top and bottom walls l5 l9 and runninglengthwise of the blocks. The webs 20 are not as long as the side wallsIt and the top and bottom walls [9 are formed at each end with notchesor recesses 22 so as to interrupt the mortar joints between abuttingends of 20 the blocks as indicated at H.

Between each course of hollow blocks I provide a flashing 23 which is!of stepped form,

with the main body of the flashing lying horizontally on the top of onecourse of blocks, 25 while a riser portion 24 at the inner side of thebody projects into the channel 2| of the course above, and a dropportion 25 at the outer side of the body overlaps the upper part of theblocks in the course on which the flashin 30 rests.

In constructing a wall the usual procedure is followed of laying thebricks and the blocks with a course of header bricks between each courseof hollow blocks to bond the blocks to 35 the bricks. The mortar 26 inthe joints between the bricks is preferably fllled in against theadjacent side walls l8 of the blocks and also extends between thecourses of blocks, but is interrupted at the channels 2|. As each courseof blocks is laid a preformed flashing 23 is laid thereon and then acourse of header bricks is laid, together with a course of backer blocksl3. Where a spandrel course l5 of bricks is laid the flashing is setupon the spandrel course with the drop portion 25 overlapping thespandrel course and also'partly overlapping the concrete iii in whichthe spandrel beam I4 is embedded.

Any moisture which runs through the mortar 59 joints 26 will be checkedeither by coming against the face l8-of the hollow brick or bycontacting with the flashing 23. The moisture running down the face isand entering the space below the block will be guided by the flashing 5outward over the next course of blocks and into the space between thelatter course and the out-' er brick wall. Thus, the moisture willpursue a zig-zag path between the blocks and the bricks. Since themortar between the ends of the blocks is applied only to the ends ofwalls l8 and such parts of walls l9 as are not recessed, moisture cannotpass through to the interior face of the block wall. Any moisture thatseeps in through such end joints will enter the void in the block to theright of the web, as viewed in Fig. 1, and running down to the bottom ofthe block will pass out through the notch 2! and be trapped by theflashing. It is to be noted that the riser 24 of the flashing isdisposed in a plane to the left (i. e. toward the interior face of thewall structure) of the extreme point 'of moisturepenetration.

It will be observed that the hollow block shown in Fig. 1 is of a typewhich may be turned end for end or may be inverted because of itssymmetrical disposition, so that in laying these blocks no time will belost in trying to set the blocks with any particular face out or anyparticular side up.

The flashing 23 referred to above is preferably of stepped form, asshown, but it may be shaped variously to suit different constructions.An advantage of this flashing is the fact that it is preformed and comesin continuous lengths so that it may be laid at little expense for timeor labor. This flashing may be made of copper or other material whichwill be proof against corrosion, but preferably it is built up oflaminae as shown in Fig. 4. It consists primarily of a metallic body 21which may be'of sheet metal, but I prefer to form the body of wire mesh,as shown in the drawing. This metal body is dipped in pitch or othersuitable waterproofing material and upon it is laid a fabric 28impregnated with pitch or other Waterproofing material and finally anouter coating of pitch or other waterproofing material 29 is applied to.

form the entire exterior surface of the flashing.

In Fig. 2, I show another form of wall structure composed of brick andhollow block in which a difi'erent form of block is used, and L-shapedbacker blocks are provided between the main hollow blocks. It will beobserved that the main blocks 30 have an inner side wall 3| and a web 32butno outer side wall. Instead the web constitutes' the outer face ofthe block with the top and bottom walls projecting beyond the web. Theblocks are laid with this recessed face disposed toward the exterior ofthe wall, leaving a chamber33 between the web 32 and the stretchercourses 34 of the brick wall. The web 32 is preferably cored and also isflared at the top and bottom to permit of the formation of a channel 35in the top and the bottom walls of each block. The brick wall isprovided with the usual header course 36 bonding the blocks to thebricks. An L-shaped backer block 31 has a horizontal part which passesunder the header course 36 and a vertical part which rises to a levelwith the header course at the interior side of the wall structure. Apreformed stepped-flashing 38 is supported on the horizontal part of theL-shaped backer'block 31 and has an upturned portion which projects intothe channel 35 of the course immediately above and a depending portionoverlapping the exterior end of the L-shaped block and projectingdownward to interrupt the next mortar joint 39 below. With thisarrangement, as with that shown in Fig. 1, moisture passing through themortar joints of the brick wall will either strike the flashing 38 orwill enter the chamber 33 and will drop down to the bottom of the hollowblock 30, and then, on passing under the block 30, will encounter theflashing 38. The latter will lead the moisture outward again into thechamber 33 formed by the next course of blocks below.

The construction shown in Fig. 3 differs from that shown in Figs. 1 and2 in the fact that no brick is employed, but the wall is composed solelyof hollow blocks. These blocks consist of a main body portion 40 with anouter part 4| forming the exterior face of the wall. The outer part 4|is stepped downwardly with respect to the part 49. These blocks areformed with vertical webs 42 and 43, the web 42 which is within the mainbody 40 is flared at the bottom to provide for a channel 44 formed inthe bottom of the main body 40. These blocks are laid with mortar joints45 and with the voids of the blocks running horizontally. A flashing 46is disposed between each course of blocks. This flashing comprises amain body which lies upon the top of one course of blocks and isprovided at one side with a riser which enters the channel 44 and towardthe exterior side with a drop portion which fits over the step in thecourse of blocks below.

It will beobserved that the mortar 45 laid between the courses of blocksis interrupted at eachstep, as indicated at 41 and 48, and the 'mortarin the vertical joints is not spread across the entire end face of theblocks but is omitted from the web 42 and from the ends of the top nel44. Here the flashing will direct the moisture back to the exterior faceof the wall. Thus in each case the riser of the flashing is disposedbeyond the point of extreme moisture penetration and the drop portion ofthe flashing conducts the moisture outward well beyond the 60 plane ofthe riser.

While I have described several embodiments of my'invention it will beunderstood that these are to be taken as illustrative and not limitativeand that I reserve the right to make such modifications, variations andalterations in structure and arrangement of parts as fall within thespirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A waterproof wall structure exposed to moisture on one face thereofcomprising a plurality of courses of hollow blocks each having a channelformed in the bottom thereof, and a flashing of waterproof materialbetweeneach course of blocks, the flashing being of stepped form witha'riser portion thereof projecting into the channel of one course, anintermediate portion extending between said course and the next adjacentcourse toward said exposed face, and a depending portion overlapping apart of the next lower course on the side toward said exposed face. 7

2. A waterproof wall structure exposed tomoisture on one face thereof,comprising a plurality of courses of hollow blocks, the latter beingformed to provide joints between the courses, stepped downwardly towardsaid exposed. face of the wall, each course of blocks being formed witha channel in the bottom thereof, and a waterproof flashing in each ofsaid joints, the flashing being of stepped form with one portion thereofprojecting into the channel of one course and another portion thereofoverlying part of the next lower course on the side toward said exposedface.

3. A wall structure comprising an inner wall of blocks, an outer wall ofbricks bonded to the inner wall, the blocksbeing recessed at the bottomto form channels extending lengthwise of the wall, and continuouspreformed waterproof flashings between courses of the blocks, eachflashing being of stepped form in cross-section with a riser portionprojecting into the channel of the course immediately above and with adrop portion depending between the course immediately below and thebrick wall.

4. A wall structure comprising an inner wall of hollow blocks with thevoids thereof extending lengthwise of the wall, an outer wall of bricksbonded to the inner wall, the blocks being formed with channels at thetop and bottom thereof respectively, and continuous preformed waterproofflashings between courses of the blocks, each flashing being of steppedform in cross-section with a riser portion projecting into the channelsof the course immediately above and with a drop portion'dependingbetween the course immediately below and the brick wall.

5. A wall structure comprising an inner wall of-hollow blocks with thevoids thereof extending lengthwise of the wall, an outer wall of bricksbonded to the inner wall, each block being formed with a channel at the.top and at the bottom thereof and also with a recess at opposite endsthereof communicating with the channels, and continuous preformedwaterproof flashings between the courses of' the blocks, each flashingbeing of stepped form in cross-section with a. riser portion projectinginto the channels of the blocks in the course immediately above and witha drop portion depending between the course immediately below and thebrick wall.

6. A wall structure comprising an inner wall of blocks, an outer wall ofbricks bonded to the inner wall, each block being recessed at the bottomthereof so as to form channels extending lengthwise of each course ofblocks, each block being also recessed on the side toward the exteriorwall, and continuous preformed waterproof flashings between courses ofthe blocks, each flashing being of stepped form in crosssection with ariser portion projecting into the channels of the blocks in the courseimmediately above and with a drop portion depending between the courseimmediately below and the brick wall.

7. A wall structure comprising an inner wall of hollow blocks with the.voids thereof extending lengthwise of the wall, an outer wall of 5bricks bonded to the inner wall, each block being formed with a channelat the top and at the bottom thereof and with a recess at opposite endsthereof communicating with the channels, each block being also formedwith a concave face on the side toward the brick wall, and continuouspreformed waterproof flashings between courses of the blocks, eachflashing being of stepped form'in cross-section with a riser portionprojecting into the bottom channels of the blocks in the courseimmediately above, and with a drop portion depending between the courseimmediately below and the brick wall.

8. As an article of manufacture, a preformed flashing for a wallstructure consisting of a body of reticulated metal with waterproofmaterial applied to opposite faces thereof, said flashing beingrelatively stiff and in the form of a continuous sheet bent to steppedform in transverse section.

9. As an article of manufacture, a preformed flashing for a wallstructure consisting of a body of wire mesh with waterproof materialapplied to the body and sheets of fabric impregnated in waterproofmaterial and applied to the body on opposite faces thereof, saidflashing being relatively stiff and in the form of continuous lengthsbent to stepped form in transverse section.

10. As an article of manufacture, a hollow building block formed withtop and bottom walls,

. each having a channel therein extending lengthwise of the block, andwith a central web connecting said top and bottom walls, each block alsohaving recesses at opposite ends thereof communicating with thechannels.

11. As an article of manufacture, a building block comprising top,bottom and side walls, the top and bottom walls extending beyond one ofthe side walls to form a recessed side face, the top and bottom wallsbeing each formed with a channel extending lengthwise of the block andthe block being formed at each end with a recess communicating with thechannels.

12. A wall structure exposed on its outer face to moisture, saidstructure comprising a plurality of elements laid in courses, mortarjoints connecting said courses, and flashings laid between the courses,the mortar in said joints being interrupted within the wall, saidflashings having riser portions projecting through such jointinterruptions to trap any moisture seeping inwardly through the mortar,each flashing also having a portion extending outwardly and downwardlyto turn back the moisture caught by the riser portion.

BEVAN JONES.

